Kate Leeming (born 1967) is an Australian extreme endurance cyclist and explorer, known for several long distance cycling expeditions. She has cycled more than twice round the world at the Equator.

Background

Leeming was raised in Northam, rural Western Australia, graduating from the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

in the 1980s and qualifying as a teacher (Geography and Physical Education). She spent 12 years (1990-2002) in the UK and France, initially as a hockey player, then a fitness trainer before becoming a Real Tennis professional. During this time she cycled 15,000 km through Europe, from Spain to Turkey, and to

Nordkapp ), North Cape, Norway, other uses, North Cape (disambiguation) Nordkapp ( en, North Cape; sme, Davvinjárga or ; fkv, Kappa or ) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of ...

, Norway. Leeming is divorced, and currently lives in Melbourne, Australia where she a senior professional in

Real Tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United St ...

at the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club.

Expeditions

Leeming undertook the 'Trans-Siberian Cycle Expedition' (with Greg Yeoman) in 1993, becoming the first woman to cycle across the new Russia unsupported, ending in Vladivostok on a bike that was suffering metal fatigue. The 13,400 km journey took 5 months and included long stretches following the Trans-Siberian railway in swampy conditions. Sponsorship was donated to support the children of Chernobyl. The 'Great Australian Cycle Expedition' (2004/2005) was 25,000 km, largely unaided, and following a circuitous route beginning and ending in Canberra. It included the first bicycle crossing of the

Canning Stock Route The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna in the mid-west region. With a total distance of around 1,850 km (1,150 mi) it is the longest historic stock route ...

by a woman. The book ''Out There and Back'' (2007) documents the trip. On August 16, 2010 she became the first person to cycle an unbroken line from Africa’s most westerly to its most easterly points; from Pointe des Almadies, Senegal to Cape Hafun, Puntland, Somalia. She cycled 22,040 km over ten months, supported by a small team for some of the journey. Crossing 20 countries in 299 days, access through the final stretch in Somalia was granted by breakaway states, including

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

where al-Shabaab rebels threatened the convoy. Sponsorship was used to support 'Breaking the Cycle in Africa', highlighting development needs and activities of war-torn and poverty-stricken nations, particular the education of girls. A prizewinning documentary awaits wide distribution and the book ''Njinga'' documents the journey. In June 2019, she became the first person to cycle the entire Namibian coastline, 1,621 km largely on sand, crossing extensive dune fields as well as beaches. She began at the mouth of the

Kunene River The Cunene (Portuguese spelling) or Kunene (common Namibian spelling) is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

on the Angolan border, and traversed the

Skeleton Coast The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The indigenous San pe ...

heading south and the

Namib Desert The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namib ...

to the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/ Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibia to the nort ...

mouth on the South African border. She used an all-wheel drive bike with a pinion drive and clutch to the front wheel and oversized tyres. The first of several of these Christini bikes was built in Philadelphia in 2013. The expedition was captured in a documentary, series, 'Diamonds In the Sand' shown on Outside TV, National Geographic Asia and CNBC. Recent expeditions have included '

The Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...

, the Altiplano & the

Atacama The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the w ...

' (2020 and 2022, from Cusco, Peru across the Bolivian Altiplano and the Argentinian Puna de Atacama), 'The Lights of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

' which brought solar power to the most remote community in the Zanskar Range, the Indian Himalaya (film, 2018), along the course of the

Finke River The Finke River, or ''Larapinta'' (Arrernte), is a river in central Australia, one of four main rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin and thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world. It flows for only a few days a year and when this happens, its wa ...

in central Australia, down the Baja Divide in Mexico and training in Svalbard, Northeast Greenland, Arctic Canada and Iceland for a proposed expedition across Antarctica.

Sport

Leeming was ranked number 2 in the world for

, reaching the finals in women's doubles four times between 1997 and 2019. She is a former Australian women's singles champion, winning 5 titles between 1996 and 2013, and coaches the sport.

Awards

* ''Njinga'' - Action on Film International Film Festival in Los Angeles, best documentary (cinematography) and best documentary (sport), 2014. * Honorary Doctor of Education (2016, The University of Western Australia).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeming, Kate Living people Ultra-distance cyclists Australian female cyclists Australian real tennis players People from Northam, Western Australia 1967 births